Man&#39;s undergarment



` www Sept. 7,1943. l f y AF.`ctr-xTi-riLD ET Al. 2,328,953 MANs UNDERGARMENT Filed Dec. 23, '1941 2 Sheets-sheet 1` f lllml vVE/v Toes ATToeNEs/J f `MANfs UDERGARMENT Filed Dec. 25, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 1A E- g ""siwulll m 1| im lli IHN l FEhN/fL//v CHA TF/ELD .NN/E /l/l L/NDH www Arroz/ws Ys' Patented Sept.V 7, 1943 2,328,953 MANs UNDERGARMEN'rV Franklin Chatfield and Jennie M. Lindh, Minne apolis, Minn., assignors to Munsngwear, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Minneapolis, Minn.,

Application December 23, 1941, Serial No. 424,121

(Cl. 12S-159) 1 Claim.

This invention relatesv to new and useful improvements in mens undergarments, and more particularly to such a garment having a suspensory embodied in the construction thereof.

In the construction of mens undergarments, it is now common practice to shir the fabric in the region of the` crotch to provide ample fullness in that portion of the garment. To facilitate the manufacture of such garments, it is usuallycustomary to insert a crotch piece or gore in the crotch of the garment, which, if the garment is provided with leg portions, is sewed to the body and leg portions thereof. To provide the necessary fullness in the crotch of the garment, the side edges of the crotch piece arev usually shirred, when sewing the crotch piece to the leg portions of the garment, or prior to sewing it thereto. type commonly known to the trade as jockey shorts, and to which the present invention more particularly appertains, portions of the side edges of the crotch piece or gore may define the inner edges of the leg openings. In such garments, the side edges ofthe crotch piece are usually shirred before securing the crotch piece to the body portion of the garment, in order to provide the necessary, fullness. Such shirring of the fabric is un,-r desirable, as it tends to make the garment more or less 'bulky at these points, which may cause discomfort to the wearer. It is therefore highly desirable that garments of this general type be so designed and constructed, that ample fullness may be provided in the crotch portion of the garment to serve as a suspensory, without shirring or otherwise drawing the fabric together to provide fullness, as is now customary.

An important object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a garment, the crotch portion of `which is so designed and constructed that ample fullness may be provided therein to serve 1f the garment is-of the A further object is to provide a garment of the class rdescribed comprising a crotch piece made from a blank having outwardly extending wings which,.when sewed together along corresponding edges, provide a suspensory which may readily be embodied in the construction of a garment.

A further and more specific object is to provide a garment of the class described comprising a crotch piece `made lfrom a blank having outwardly extending wings which, when sewed together along corresponding edges, provide a suspensory, and the upper front portion of the as a suspensory, without the necessity of shirring the fabric.

A further object is to provide a garment of the jockey shorts type, comprising a crotch piece which may be sewed into the garment in the manufacture thereof, in a manner to provide ample fullness without shirring the fabric, and whereby the resultant seams may be comparatively small, and the crotch portion of the garment substantially free from wrinkles and undue bulkiness.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment having a novel crotch piece, the shapel of which determines the size or degree of fullness of the suspensory.

suspensory or crotch piece being adapted to cooperate with the lower front central portion of the garment to provide a horizontal fly opening.

Other objects ofthe invention reside in the novel construction of the crotch and front p0rtions of the garment, whereby the garment may be provided with a suitable suspensory without complicating the construction thereof nor adding to the cost of manufacture; in the unique shape of the crotch piece which controls the size of the suspensory; in the manner of constructing the crotch piece and sewing it into the garment to provide a suspensory without shirring the fabric, and whereby the upper front portion of the crotch piece may cooperate with the front section of the garment to provide a suitable fly opening; and in the simple and inexpensive construction of the garment.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claim.V

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claim which follows:

In the drawings: v

Figure 1 is a front view o/a garment showing the invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is a rear View of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a perspective View showing the garment on a ligure.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view partially in section to show-the overlapping arrangement of the upper portion of the crotch piece and the lower portion of the front section of the garment;

Figure 5 is a view showing the crotch of the garment;

Figure 6 is a view showing the crotch piece formed to provide the suspensory;

Figure '7 is a similar view but showing a suspensory with greater fullness;

-Figure 8 is a view showing the blank which constitutes the front section or panel of the gary ment;

Figure 9 isa viewv showing the blank which constitutes the main body portion of the garment;

Figure 10 is a view showing a crotch piece in which the opposed Wings extend outwardly and upwardly, thereby to provide a suspensory with less fullness;

Figure 11 is a view showing a crotch piece blank shaped to provide relatively more fullness than the blank shown in Figure 10; v i

Figure 12 is a view showing a crotch piece having outwardly extending horizontally disposed wings which, when stitched together along the edges 24, provide a suspensory having greater fullness than the form shown in Figure 7; and

Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing a garment with a vertically disposed fly opening.

In the selected embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, there is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, for purposes of disclosure, a garment comprising a main body portion 2 formed from a blank 3, shown in Figure 9. The side portions 4 of the blank provide the sides of the body of the garment, and the central portion 6 the back or seat portion 1 thereof.

The form of garment shown in Figure 1 has a front panel or section 8 which, prior to being stitched into the garment, may be in the form of a rectangular blank 9, as illustrated in Figure 8.

The side edges Il of the blank 9 are stitched-to the side edges I2 of the blank 3 by suitable seams I3, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. A suitable waist band I4 is preferably secured to the upper edges of the body portion 1 and front panel 8 to complete the formation of the upper portion of the garment. The waist band I 4 is preferably of elastic material, as is more or less common in garments of this type.

The garment shown in Figures 1 to 4 is of the type commonly known as jockey shorts, and is provided with suitable leg openings I5, although it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in garments having leg portions'without departing from the scope of the invention.-

An important feature of the present invention resides in the unique construction of the crotch piece, generally designated by the numeral I6. The crotch piece I6, as best shown in Figure 10, is made from a blank I1, having a rear portion I8 provided with a convex or curved edge I9 adapted to be stitched to the concave edge 2| of the body blank 3; by a seam 22, shown in Figures` 2 and 5. The crotch piece is shaped to provide a suspensory, when embodied in the garment, and the upper portion thereof may be arranged to cooperate with the lower portion of the front section or panel 8 to provide a horizontal ily opening I0, as will readily be understood by reference to Figures 1 and 4.

The novel shape of the blank from which the crotch piece is made, constitutes an important feature of the present invention, in that it determines the degree of fullness of the suspensory of the completed garment. The blank Il is formed with a pair of outwardly extending wings 23, the edges 24 of which join at the median plane a-a of the crotch piece, as clearly shown in Figure l0.

The edges 24 of the wings 23 are stitched together by a seam 25, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, to form a. suspensory, generally designated by the numeral 26.

To assemble the garment, the edges 24 of the crotchpiece are united by the seam 25, to form the suspensory 26, after which a suitable elastic binding 21 is stitched to the upper edges of the united wings 23, as shown in Figure 61 The crotch piece is then secured to the blank 3 by stitching together the curved edge portions I9 and ZI by the seam 22, as hereinbefore stated, after which the front panel 8 is secured to the side edges I2 of the body blank 3, as shown in Figure 1, andas previously stated. At the same time, the upper edge portions 28 of the wings 23 of the crotch piece are secured to the edge portions 29 of the body blank 3 by the seams I3, as will be ready understood by reference to Figure 1. By thus securing the upper portion of the crotch piece, which previously 'formed the wings 23 of the blank l1, to the body of the garment, the upper portion of the crotch piece, indicated by the letter A, will overlap the lower edge portion of the front panel, indicated by the letter B. An elastic binding 3I is secured to the lower edge of the front panel 8, as a reinforcement therefor, to keep its lower portion in position on ,the body. After the blanks 3, 9 and I1 have thus been secured together, the upper waist band I4 is secured to the garment, and the leg openings I5 are also finished by suitable tapes 32, as will be understood by reference to Figure 1. The stretch of the material forming the crotch piece is in a fore-and-aft direction, as indicated by the arrow 33 in Figures 5, 10, 1l and l2, whereby the rear or seat portion of the crotch piece will readily and freely yield to bending movements of the wearers body. The stretch of the body portion 3 and front panel 9 of the garment is in a horizontal direction, as indicated by the arrows 30 and 40, respectively, as shown in Figures 8 and 9.

The fullness in the suspensory 26 may be controlled by varying the shape of the outwardly extending wings 23 of the crotch blank I1. In Figure 6 there is shown a suspensory formed from a blank shaped as shown in Figure 10. In Figure 1l, the crotch piece is shown provided with wings 34, which have their lower edges substantially horizontally disposed in the blank, and their upper edges 24 are formed with rather pronounced curves, whereby the resultant suspensory will be of intermediate size.

In Figure 12, we have shown a crotch blank comprising wings 36, which are horizontally disposed and have their upper and lower edges arranged in substantially parallel relation. The form of blank shown in Figure 12 produces a suspensory having considerable fullness, as shown, for example, in Figure '7. It will thus be seen that by varying the size and angle of the wings of the crotch piece blank I1, the resultant suspensory may be varied in size, as may be desired;

In the drawings we have shown the body of the garment constructed of two pieces, namely the blanks 3 and 9, whereby the body of the garment comprises but the two upright seams I3, shown in Figures 1, 3 and 5. It is to be understood, however, that the body of the garment may be otherwise made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the body may be made of tubular knit fabric, in which case the front panel 9 may be dispensed with, or the body may be otherwise formed to eliminate the front section 9. The upper marginal edge portion of the front of the crotch piece may also be permanently secured to the front portion of the body of the garment,.if it is desired to provide the garment with some other form of y .opening as, for instance, a vertically disposed fly opening, as shown at 31 in Figure 13. In this iigure there is also shown a garment having leg portions 38, to which the side portions ot the crotch piece 39 are secured without shirring, as hereinbefore stated.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that we have accomplished atleast the principal objects of our invention, and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing 'from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that our invention is not limited thereto.

We claim as our invention:

A suspensory blank for an undergarment comprising a crotch piece including a central portion having a convex rear edge adapted to be secured to the seat portion of a garment, and a pair of oppositely extending wings, the side edges of said central portion being concave and having their upper portions extending outwardly in opposite directions and dening the bottom edges of said Wings, the upper edges of said wings curving upwardly and outwardly from the upper central portion of the crotch piece, and, substantially perpendicular .to the median line thereof, the upper and lower edges being substantially parallel and fastening means for securing together the upper curved edges of said wings to complete the suspensory for embodiment in a garment.

FRANKLIN CHA'I'FIELD. JENNIE M. LINDH. 

